December 5th Mixtape

Normal mixtape duties resume after I’ve returned from a week working in Istanbul. I especially relished, loved, metaphorically rolled around in the tracks below. I’ve had a week of 2 Unlimited, Haddaway and Simply Red from my Italian colleagues. It’s like they stopped taping the top 40 in 1992. Either their tape deck stopped working or they were content that music couldn’t mutate into anything better so stopped listening at that point. My ears needed healing. The tracks below made them happy again.

If you’re a Spotify user click here to play the mixtape and if you’re a YouTube purist click hereto play the videos. ♥

1. The Duke Spirit – Procession (The Duke Spirit are one of those bands that have been steadily slogging away for 8 years, Liela Moss goes filthier than ever before on this years album, Bruiser).

2. Metric – Monster Hospital(Listening to The Duke Spirit reminded me of this track immediately. Gritty, eerie. This track always makes me think of Prozac Nation, in one of those unexplainable links your brain sometimes makes when you hear a song).

3. The Black Keys – Lonely Boy(In love with this band and giddy excited to be seeing them live next year. The video to this track at the bottom of this blog will warm your cockles! They made audition tapes for five people but this chap stole the show and they used him for the entire video. El Camino could be a late contender for my album of the year).

4. Siouxsie & The Banshees – Spellbound(I always used to view Siouxsie as Chrissie Hyndes evil twin, alter ego, nemesis. Perhaps one of the more commercial, well-known tracks but it still raises my spirits whenever I hear it).

5. Slow Club – Where I’m Waking(Lolita picked this track. We’ll be seeing in the New Year with Slow Club. The more I listen to the album the more I adore them, such lighthearted indie. Good Monday morning soundtrack).

7. Field Music – (I Keep Thinking About) A New Thing (A welcome return for an underrated band that seem to be getting a lot of air play with this track. Every time it comes on the radio I let out a barely audible, but very content little sigh).

8. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Senator (When an artist can convey witty, dry humour through music without being tacky they have my attention. Stephen Malkmus achieves this on Senator, adore how he haves me merrily sing along to the word blow job like I’m singing about innocent spring mornings. So upbeat and jolly!).

9. Belle & Sebastian – Lazy Line Painter Jane (I recently went to see John Osborne’s John Peel’s Shed. In it he briefly mentioned it is an unwritten rule that ALL girls like Belle & Sebastian. If you are female and don’t follow this rule listen to this track and you will be onside).

10. Clarence “Frogman” Henry – Ain’t Got No Home(For those of you of a certain age of course you’ll instantly link this song to The Lost Boys. Life was simpler when Vampire movies involved the two Corey’s)